Jetty



Dec. 29, 1942. WDONALD 2,306,737

JETTY Filed Deo. 2;, 193s C50?. L5'. m M MW Patented Dec. 29, 1942 `UNITED STATES eATaNT orrlc JETTY Franklin C. MacDonald, Los Angeles, Calif. Application December 22, 1939, Serial No. 310,536

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a jetty, and more especially to a jetty of the type used along river beds to collect debris and silt.

Jetties constructed in accordance with my invention are used to protect river banks from erosion and battering from the normal ow of water during flood periods. When my jetties are used along the banks of a river they will catch and retain debris and silt, thus causing the jetty to be eventually buried by a new and firmly held bank. Similarly, when a river has cut a new channel and it is desired to return the water to the old channel and ll in the new one,a string of my jetties across the new channel will cause debris and silt and sand to lodge in the channel around the jetties and thus block the channel. In the same way, a river can be forced to cut a new channel by placing my jetties in the old channel.

Piers and abutments of bridges whose foundations are subject to erosion, may be protected by my jetties, which, when placed around saidpiers and abutments, will cause debris and sand to form new. iirm land which the river will be unable to cut out.

I know that jetties constructed of similar materials have been used for the above purpose. but none of them has the advantages that will be apparent from a reading of the following specification. These advantages comprise a heavier construction with very little increase in material; practically no tendency to overturn; more frontal surface to the now of water, and thus more resistance and ability to catch debris and silt, and means for increasing the height of the jetties when partially buried.

All of the present jetties are easily rolled over, and their eectiveness lost. This is true because of their shape, which is either tepee. conical,Y round or cubical. To overcome these diiiculties, my jetties are shaped to form a T with the standard of the T as the means of preventing overturn of the head of the T. This standard is in the form of a wedge whose extremities are widely spaced for a single support.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a jetty.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modification.

My jetties may be constructed of old railway rails, channel iron, angle iron, or truck or automobile frames, or of new material. I prefer to use old truck or automobile frames. If other materials are used, they must rst be welded or bolted together in rectangular form, similar to an automobile frame.

In constructing a jetty in accordance with my invention, two of these frames I and 2 are placed on edge in the shape of a wedge with the ends 3- and 4 of the frame approximately 15 feet apart. 'I'he apex 5 is bound together with No. 9 or 10 galvanized wire. While I prefer to fasten all of the frames of my jetties together by binding with No. 9 or 1I) galvanized Wire, they may be bolted or welded together. Binding with wire allows a certain resiliency to the jetty and aids in taking the shock caused by heavy logs, etc. carried by the river. The apex of the jetty is then placed through the center of the frame 6 so that it extends about 2 feet in front of the plane of the frame 5. The frame 6 is bound to the frames I and 2, as indicated at 1, 9 and I0. The frames II and I2 are then placed in the same plane as the frame 6 and bound thereto with wire.

To further strengthen the jetty and add more surface for collecting debris and silt, No. 9 or 10 galvanized wire is fastened from the extremities of one frame to the extremities of all the other frames and twisted taut. These wires are indi-r cated by the reference numeral I3 in Fig. 1.

A modification of my jetty is.shown in Fig. 4. In this type of jetty, the wedge supporting frames I and 2 may be dispensed with and a single frame I4 used in its place.

In using these jetties they are placed in the stream with the bottom ends of the frames II and I2 and the ends 3 and 4 of the frames I and 2 in contact with the bed of the stream in such position that the face made by the frames 6, II and I2 is opposed to the ow of the stream. When the part of the stream which it is desired to have filled in is larger than one jetty, two or more jetties are placed adjoining each other and fastened together with cables.

In deep streams. after the debris and silt have collected up to approximately the upper height of the frame 6, another frame parallel to frame 6 can be attached on the frames II and I 2, thus increasing the height of the jetty.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to any of the details herein described, except as defined in the apended claims.

I claim:

1. A jetty comprising a pair of upright frames, a horizontal frame connecting said upright frames, and a supporting wedge comprising a pair of laterally and downwardly diverging frames fastened medial of said horizontal frame and the apex of said wedge extending in front the apex of said wedge extending in front of said of said horizontal frame, said jetty being suphorizontal frame, whereby the lower ends of said ported on the ends of said upright frames and upright frames and the rearwardly eXtending on the ends of said wedge frames, whereby the ends of said wedge frames COIN-Prise a Our point center of rotation of said jetty is substantially 5 base to prevent overturning of said jetty, said vertically beneath the outer extremities of said jetty being supported on the ends of said upright horizontal frame and passes through the supframeS and 0n the ends 0f Said Wedge frames, porting ends of adjacent upright frames and whereby the center of rotation of said jetty is subwedge frames. stantially vertically beneath the outer extremities 2. A jetty comprising a pair of upright frames, 10 of said horizontal frame and passes through the a horizontal frame connecting said upright supporting ends of adjacent upright frames and frames, and a pair of supporting Wedge frames Wedge frames. fastened medial to said horizontal frame and FRANKLIN C. MACDONALD. 

